[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 92 (Monday, May 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28003-28005]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11264]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2012-0320; Docket Nos. 50-313 and 50-368; License Nos. DPR-51 and
NPF-6]
In the Matter of Entergy Arkansas and Entergy Operations,
Arkansas Nuclear One, Units 1 and 2; Order Approving Direct and
Indirect Transfers of Licenses and Approving Conforming Amendments
I
Entergy Arkansas, Inc. (EAI), and Entergy Operations, Inc. (EOI)
(the licensees), are co-holders of Renewed Facility Operating License
Nos. DPR-51 and NPF-6. The EAI is the owner and EOI is authorized to
possess, use, and operate Arkansas Nuclear One, Units. 1 and 2 (ANO-1
and ANO-2); located in Pope County, Arkansas.
[[Page 28004]]
II
By application dated September 27, 2012, as supplemented by letters
dated January 29 and April 16, 2013, EOI requested on behalf of itself,
EAI, and their parent companies (together, the applicants), pursuant to
Sec. 50.80 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) consent to certain
license transfers to permit the direct transfer of ANO-1 and ANO-2, and
associated Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations, to a new
limited liability company, Entergy Arkansas, LLC (EAL). The applicants
also requested approval of conforming license amendments that would
replace references to EAI in the license with references to EAL to
reflect the transfer of ownership. In addition, the applicants
requested the NRC's consent to approve associated indirect license
transfers to the extent such would be affected by the formation of a
new intermediary holding company. Entergy Corporation (Entergy) will
remain as the ultimate parent company, but a new intermediate company,
Entergy Utilities Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company,
will be created, which will be the direct parent company of EAL and
EOI. Ultimately, EAL will acquire ownership of the facility and EOI
will remain responsible for the operation and maintenance of ANO-1 and
ANO-2. The license transfers are necessary to support a proposed
separation of the Entergy transmission system in Arkansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. Currently, the utility operating
company subsidiaries of Entergy (e.g., EAI) own the respective
transmission assets. Following the proposed transactions, each of the
Entergy subsidiaries will become a new limited liability company with
the same assets except that the transmission assets will be owned by
ITC Holdings Corp. and operated by Midwest Independent Transmission
System Operator, Inc.
No physical changes to the facilities or operational changes are
being proposed in the application. The interconnections that provide
offsite power to ANO-1 and ANO-2 do not change as a result of the
proposed direct and indirect license transfers.
Approval of the direct and indirect transfers of the facility
operating license was requested by EOI, acting on behalf of EAI, as
well as their parent companies and itself. A notice entitled,
``Consideration of Approval of Application Regarding Proposed Creation
of a Holding Company and Transfer of Renewed Facility Operating
Licenses and Conforming Amendments and Opportunity for a Hearing,'' was
published in the Federal Register on January 3, 2013 (78 FR 328). No
comments or hearing requests were received.
Under 10 CFR 50.80, no license, or any right thereunder, shall be
transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of control of the
license, unless the NRC shall give its consent in writing. Upon review
of the information in the licensees' application, and other information
before the Commission, the NRC staff has determined that the proposed
indirect license transfer of control of the subject licenses held by
the licensees to the extent such will result from the proposed
formation of the intermediary holding company in conjunction with the
planned direct transfer of EAI to EAL to the extent affected in order
to support transfer of the Entergy transmission assets as described in
the application, is otherwise consistent with the applicable provisions
of law, regulations, and orders issued by the NRC, pursuant thereto,
subject to the conditions set forth below. The NRC staff has further
found that the application for the proposed license amendments complies
with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations set
forth in 10 CFR Chapter I; the facilities will operate in conformity
with the application, the provisions of the Act and the rules and
regulations of the Commission; there is reasonable assurance that the
activities authorized by the proposed license amendments can be
conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public and
that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the
Commission's regulations; the issuance of the proposed license
amendments will not be inimical to the common defense and security or
to the health and safety of the public; and the issuance of the
proposed amendments will be in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the
Commission's regulations and all applicable requirements have been
satisfied. The findings set forth above are supported by a safety
evaluation dated the same day as this Order.
III
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, 161o, and 184 of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i),
2201(o), and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80, it is hereby ordered that the
application regarding the indirect and direct license transfers related
to the proposed corporate restructuring in connection with the
separation of the Entergy transmission system is approved, subject to
the following conditions:
1. Before completion of the proposed transaction, EOI shall provide
the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation satisfactory
documentary evidence that EAL has obtained the appropriate amount of
insurance required of the licensees under 10 CFR Part 140 of the
Commission's regulations.
It is further ordered that consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), the
license amendments that make a change, as indicated in Enclosures 2 and
3 to the cover letter forwarding this Order (Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML13077A237), to
reflect the subject direct transfer, is approved. The amendments shall
be issued and made effective at the time the proposed direct transfer
action is completed.
It is further ordered that after receipt of all required regulatory
approvals of the proposed direct transfer action, EOI shall inform the
Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in writing of such
receipt, and of the date of closing, no later than 1 business day
before the closing of the direct transfer. Should the proposed direct
transfer not be completed within 1 year of this Order's date of
issuance, this Order shall become null and void, provided, however,
upon written application and good cause shown, such date may be
extended by Order.
This Order is effective upon issuance.
For further details with respect to this Order, see the initial
application dated September 27, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12275A013),
as supplemented by letters dated January 29 and April 16, 2013 (ADAMS
Accession Nos. ML13030A204 and ML13107A010, respectively), and the
safety evaluation dated the same date as this Order (ADAMS Accession
No. ML13077A237), which are available for public inspection at the
Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint
North, Public File Area 01 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor),
Rockville, Maryland 20852. Publicly available documents created or
received at the NRC are accessible electronically through ADAMS in the
NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do
not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the
documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR reference staff
by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by email to
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov.
[[Page 28005]]
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of May 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric J. Leeds,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2013-11264 Filed 5-10-13; 8:45 am]
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